Labour: ban betting firms from sponsoring football shirts

The Labour Party would ban football clubs from signing shirt sponsorship deals with betting brands, deputy leader Tom Watson has announced.

West Ham: one of nine Premier League clubs to have a shirt sponsorship deal with a betting brand
West Ham: one of nine Premier League clubs to have a shirt sponsorship deal with a betting brand

The move is aimed at pushing pressure on the government, which publishes its own review into gambling next month, .

At present, betting brands appear on the shirts of nine of the 20 Premier League clubs.

Watson said: "Football has to play its part in tackling Britain’s hidden epidemic of gambling addiction.

"Shirt sponsorship sends out a message that football clubs don’t take problem gambling among their own fans seriously enough. It puts gambling brands in front of fans of all ages, not just at matches but on broadcasts and highlights packages on both commercial television and the BBC."

Market Reports

Get unprecedented new-business intelligence with access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new Advertising Intelligence Market Reports.

Find out more

Enjoying ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s content?

 Get unlimited access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s premium content for your whole company with a corporate licence.

Upgrade access

Looking for a new job?

Get the latest creative jobs in advertising, media, marketing and digital delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Create an alert now

Partner content